The New Testament Is Concealed In The Old Testament And The Old Testament Is Revealed In The New Testament

 

St. Augustine of Hippo summed it up this way: "In Vetere Novum lateat, et in Novo Vetus pateat."

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Please Pray For My Grandson, Luke Pulskamp

 

Photo of my  Grandson, Luke Pulskamp, after he gave a talk to his class about St. Francis of  Assisi on the saint's Feast Day.

Luke, 15, was diagnosed with a rare skin cancer on his face and head. He was rushed into immediate surgery. 

Pease ask our Eucharistic Lord to intercede on his behalf.

Thank you and God bless each and every one of you!

Pace E' Bene!

Fra Chris

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Pray The Rosary In Latin

 

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St. Francis Was No Sissy

 

"The minister general [St. Bonaventure] said to us: Here are some anecdotes that Brother Illuminato who accompanied St. Francis on his visit to the sultan of Egypt told us:

...The same sultan submitted this problem to him: "Your Lord taught in his gospels that evil must not be repaid with evil, that you should not refuse your cloak to anyone who wants to take your tunic, etc. (Mt 5,40): in that case, Christians should not invade our land?" - "It seems," Blessed Francis answered, "That you have not read the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ completely. In another place we read: if your eye causes you sin, tear it out and throw it away (Mt 5 , 29). Here he wanted to teach us that every man, however dear and close he is to us, and even if he is precious to us as the apple of our eye, must be repulsed, pulled out, expelled if he seeks to turn us aside from the faith and love of our God. That is why it is just that Christians invade the land you inhabit, for you blaspheme the name of Christ and alienate everyone you can from his worship. But if you were to recognize, confess, and adore the Creator and Redeemer, Christians would love you as themselves."

St. Francis of Assisi

Omnibus of Sources

Thirteenth-Century Sources

Verba fr. Illuminati (Ms Vat. Ottub. lat. 522)

Golubovich, Biblioteca, vol. I, pp. 36-37

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Remain In The Presence Of God

St. Francis would say, "If the servant of God, as may happen, is disturbed in any way, he should rise immediately to pray and he should remain in the presence of the heavenly Father until he restores the joy of salvation."

Saint Francis of Assisi

Celano, Second Life

CHAPTER LXXXVIII

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Working In Harmony With The Clergy

Photo of my dear friend, Fr. Mike Scanlan, TOR, former President and Chancellor of the Franciscan University of Steubenville. Rest In Peace, dear friend. 

(December 1, 1931 – January 7, 2017)

St. Francis spoke thus because the harvest of souls which the friars desire to gather is more readily obtained by working in harmony with the clergy, thereby helping both them and the people, than by antagonizing them, even though they may win the people.

Saint Francis of Assisi

Mirror of Perfection - 10

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All God Asks Of Us Is That We Keep Our Sneakers Laced

 

When St. Francis went to preach at Celano after his return from overseas, a knight begged him insistently to come to dinner, Francis was reluctant, but his host almost forced him to come, in his devotion to him. Before they sat to eat, the saint offered praise and prayers to God as usual, like the truly spiritual man he was. There he learned in the spirit that his host must die in the very near future, and he remained standing with his mind fixed of God and his eyes raised to heaven. When he had finished praying, he drew his host aside and told him that he was going to die soon, advising him to go to confession and encouraging him to do what good he could. The knight took his advice and confessed all his sins to the saint's companion. He put his affairs in order and entrusted himself to God's mercy, doing everything he could to prepare for death. They were all beginning their meal when the knight, who seemed quite strong and well, suddenly passed away, as the saint had foretold.

Saint Francis of Assisi

Bonaventure, Minor Life

CHAPTER IV

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Padre Pio The Secret Of The Stigmata

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The Baby Jesus Appears To St. Francis of Assisi In Greccio, Italy

 

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Merry Christmas From The Portiuncula (next to the former Immaculate Conception Church) in Ozark, Ohio

 

My Great-Great Uncle, George Cosmos (Cose) Burkhard (Born 2 Sep 1869 and died 25 Apr 1962) along with his niece, Mary Burkhard (Born 27, April 1888 and died 14 Sep 1958) , standing in front of the Immaculate Conception Church sometime in the late 1950's. Cose and Mary were my Godparents.

The church was torn down in 1981.

We are rebuilding the church but this time we are building it just inside the Portiuncula Franciscan Hermitage and Retreat Center's property to ensure it won't be destroyed again. Also, we will be duplicating the Portiuncula Chapel that is located on the campus of the Franciscan University of Steubenville. 

Monroe County, Ohio Catholics are invited to pre-plan their funerals at their convenience. Here is ours:

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Please enjoy this Eucharistic Music Video sent to me by Theresa Thomas back in 2006

 

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The beautiful monastery at Greccio where St. Francis created the first live Christmas nativity.

 

“The man of God (Francis) stood before the manger, full of devotion and piety, bathed in tears and radiant with joy.”  St. Bonaventure (contemporary of St. Francis and biographer)

His face was wet with his own tears as Francis of Assisi stood before the people of the little town of Greccio one Christmas Eve long ago. With great tenderness and humility, he told them the story of the first Christmas. Behind him was a cave with two of the village people dressed as Mary and Joseph, and a wax baby representing Jesus. An Ox and donkey stood beside them. Mary was bending over the baby lying on a bed of straw. Francis turned to behold the love of his life, the Babe of Bethlehem, and he fell down in weeping adoration.

“The brethren were summoned, the people ran together, the forest resounded with their voices, and that venerable night was made glorious by many with brilliant lights and sonorous psalms of praise.”

Greccio, a little town in Umbria, had experienced the extraordinary that Christmas eve in 1226. St. Francis of Assisi had assembled a live nativity scene in a cave on the outskirts of town to show the humble birth of Christ. The townspeople gathered around, full of wonder and expectation.

“the Holy Gospel was chanted by Francis…. Then he preached to the people around the nativity of the poor king; and being unable to utter His name for the tenderness of His love, He called Him the Babe of Bethlehem.”  Prior to this, mass on Christmas eve was spoken in Latin, which the people could not understand.

Francis encouraged the people to reject hatred and embrace love, with the help of God. Whether you remain a sceptic or not, the message of St. Francis resounds with hope for our individual worlds as well as the one we all share. As the hay was gathered up later and fed to the animals, a miracle occurred. The cattle were cured of their diseases. The people believed that God had honored his servant Francis.

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We Should See And Believe

 

Just as Jesus Christ appeared to the shepherds and the three wise men, so now he shows himself to us in consecrated bread; and as with their physical sight they saw only his flesh, but with the eyes of faith, they believed that he was God, so too, now, though we see bread and wine with the eyes of our body, we should see with the eyes of faith and firmly believe that it is his Most Holy Body and Blood, living and true.

Fra Chris

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The Smoke House At The Portiuncula Hermitage In Ozark, Ohio

 

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Fasting On Chritmas

 

When the question arose about eating meat that day, since Christmas day fell on a Friday, Brother Francis replied, saying to Brother Morico, "You sin, Brother, calling the day on which the Child was born to us a day of fast. It is my wish," he said, "that even the walls should eat meat on such a day, and if they cannot, they should be smeared with meat on the outside!"

Saint Francis of Assisi
Celano, Second Life
Chapter CLI

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Silent Monks Singing Halleluia

 

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St. Francis of Assisi Built The Very First Nativity Scene in Greccio

 

What Francis did on the birthday of our Lord Jesus Christ near the little town called Greccio in the third year before his glorious death should be especially noted and recalled with reverent memory. In that place there was a certain man named John, of good reputation and an even better life, whom blessed Francis loved with a special love, for in the place where he lived he held a noble and honorable position in as much as he had trampled upon the nobility of his birth and pursued nobility of soul. Blessed Francis sent for this man, as he often did, about fifteen days before the birth of the Lord, and he said to him: "If you want us to celebrate the present feast of our Lord at Greccio, go with haste and diligently prepare what I tell you. For I wish to do something that will recall to memory the little Child who was born in Bethlehem and set before our bodily eyes in some way the inconveniences of his infant needs, how he lay in a manger, how, with an ox and an ass standing by, he lay upon the hay where he had been placed." When the good and faithful man heard these things, he ran with haste and prepared in that place all the things the saint had told him.

The manger was prepared, the hay had been brought, the ox and the ass were led in. There simplicity was honored, poverty was exalted, humility was commended, and Greccio was made, as it were, a new Bethlehem.

Saint Francis of Assisi
Celano, First Life
CHAPTER XXX

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God Chose An Unborn Child To Announce The Coming Of His Son!

 

As soon as Mary received the announcement from the angel, she went in haste to her cousin Elizabeth, who was with child. And the unborn child, John the Baptist, rejoiced in Elizabeth's womb. How wonderful it was...Almighty God chose an unborn child to announce the coming of His Son!

This was the first Eucharist: the gift of God's Son establishing Mary as the first altar, the first tabernacle. Mary is the only one able to confirm in complete sincerity, "This is my body!"

Fra Chris Dickson, F.L.A.

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Are We Too Embarrassed To Pray Before Meals In A Restaurant?

 

When dining out at a restaurant, do we say Grace, making the Sign of the Cross before and after praying? Or are we more concerned about the people who may laugh at us? Perhaps if they see us Crossing ourselves in public they will be emboldened enough to do it themselves next time. 

Fra Chris

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"Stations of the Cross" Originated From The Franciscans

 

 FUS students praying at the outdoor Stations of the Cross on the 

campus of the Franciscan University of Steubenville

The emperor Constantine permitted Christians to legally worship in the Roman Empire in 313 after 250 years of persecution. In 335, he erected the Church of the Holy Sepulcher at the site where Jesus’ tomb was believed to have been. Processions of pilgrims to the church, especially during Holy Week, began soon after its completion.

Devotions to the Way of the Cross began in earnest after 1342, when the Franciscan friars were given custody of the holy sites in the Holy Land. The Franciscans have been closely identified with the devotion ever since; for years, Church regulations required a set of the stations to be blessed by a Franciscan when possible.

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